Marvel reveals first details for X-Men: Blue and X-Men: Gold

Uncanny. Astonishing. X-Treme. New. Different. And, most recently, Extraordinary. Marvel’s merry mutants have utilized many hyperbolic adjectives over the decades, but in 2017, the X-Men will be getting even more colorful.

As announced Monday on IGN, Marvel will be launching two new flagship titles for the X-Men line, X-Men: Blue and X-Men: Gold, following the publisher’s blockbuster Inhumans vs. X-Men event. They released teasers for their new X-lineup back in October, but now we’ve got some actual information on the characters and creative teams of the first two titles of what Marvel has dubbed “ResurrXion.” The color-coded teams hearken back to the team’s '90s heyday, but both of the April-debuting twice-monthly titles have distinct identities and directions that look toward the future even as they acknowledge the franchise’s storied past.

First up, X-Men: Blue will be the home of the original five X-Men, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast and Angel, who’ve been time-displaced to the current day for a few years now. The title will be written by current Uncanny X-Men writer Cullen Bunn and artist Jorge Molina, hot off a run on the publisher’s smash-hit Star Wars title. This will presumably be replacing the current All-New X-Men title, where the teens are joined by fellow young mutants Kid Apocalypse, Oya and X-23, the all-new Wolverine. There’s no word on whether those characters will be tagging along for the new series, but there is going to be a surprising character in the mentor position: their most enduring enemy, Magneto.

Bunn, who is no stranger to the Master of Magnetism, having previously written his acclaimed solo series, had this to say about the villain’s inclusion:

“There's some mystery involved in terms of why the X-Men are working with him and what they're trying to accomplish. There's a little bit of intrigue there because knowing Magneto, you know he's got ulterior motives. He's Magneto. The original five X-Men aren't stupid. They know this. And maybe they have some ulterior motives of their own.”

Having the young X-Men in the modern day has already led to some interesting stories, and throwing their oldest foe into the mix as an ally is sure to provide some of the high-stakes drama that all the best X-stories are made of.

X-Men: Gold will be helmed by writer Marc Guggenheim, a name readers may associate more with DC, as he’s one of the creative forces behind The CW’s Arrow, but he’s no stranger to Marvel, with previous runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Wolverine. He’s joined by artist Adrian Syaf, most recently seen on DC’s Green Lanterns, who’ll be tasked with drawing a more matured team of X-Men than their cooler-colored counterparts.

Kitty Pride will lead the team upon her return from her spacefaring adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and she’ll be joining up with the core of the current “Extraordinary” team, which includes Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm and the Old Man Logan version of Wolverine. Rachel Grey, the time-travelling daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey, who will be given a new identity for the series, Prestige. Syaf has provided her with a new costume as well, which seems heavily inspired by the garb of the Shi’ar’s Gladiator. This has interesting implications for the character, who has been attacked by the Shi’ar Empire on numerous occasions thanks to her connection with the Phoenix Force.

Guggenheim didn’t comment on the Shi’ar, but he did mention that the team would be facing a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and would be focusing on the persecution of mutants in a modern context.

“There's more going on here than just another new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the umpteenth iteration. … One of the things that I wanted to get back to and really sort of drill down is what does it mean to be a mutant in the 21st century, in a world where you've got Inhumans and you've had mutants for all this time and you've had M-Pox and Genosha and all the things that have happened to mutants throughout the years. Why does this racism still exist?”

This is certainly an impressive classically X-Men roster—complete with not one, but two members from alternate timelines!—and I was a big fan of Guggenheim’s previous Marvel work, so I can’t wait to see what he brings to the Children of the Atom.

There’s still more to come for Marvel’s ResurrXion, with details for promised GenerationX, Weapon X, Cable, Iceman and Jean Grey series still to be revealed, but what do you think so far? Are you more excited for X-Men: Blue or X-Men: Gold? Let us know in the comments.